Beer: Ratings & Reviews

Reviews by beesy:

32oz swing top filled on Sunday 03/24/13 from Weilands Market where keg was put on a day ahead of filling. Notes from 03/24 and 03/26.

A - pours a hazy light orange in color with a half a finger off white head that sticks around just long enough to notice it before retreating into the glass.

S - on 03/24 the nose was almost non-existent. On 03/26 a brush of cascade'ish citrus was detected before disappearing like a Saturday in mid-Spring in Ohio. Slightly fruity each day.

T - the first thing I notice is the large amount of the same malt flavors I found in the Voltan - I'm not sure if it's a lot of vienna or brown or aromatic malt or what (not as peanut buttery as the Voltan but more nutty - the chocolate and roast malts in the Voltan more than likely made it appear more peanut buttery than nutty) but for me it just complicates the beer too much. A fair amount of hop citrus in the mid-late to late palate but I'm fighting off the unusual malt profile that's overwhelming it. A noticeable hop bitterness that lingers slighlty and is fairly smooth. Malty.

M - medium-light on the tongue. Nothing out of the ordinary to speak of except fairly malt heavy.

D - fairly low for me. It took me two sessions to cash out a 32oz growler although remodeling work took over on Sunday.

Overall, a beer I've been wanting to try for so long but fell short of what I was expecting. The complicated malt profile confuses me even though I can appreciate the brewer making a beer he likes. I think the hop profile would be pretty darn good if the malts weren't confusing it - IMHO American IPA should be more simplistic on the malta, but that's just me opinion. I'm a little torn on the brewery right now and I really want them to get some kick ass stuff in my glass but I've really been working to try these beers and two I've had have let me down a bit.

For me this is the quintessential IPA. The variant of Musk of the Minotaur I am writing about was brewed with experimental hop #05256 and is amazing. It smells extremely inviting and follows up that smell with a delicious citrus and maybe bit of a peach taste. This IPA that is wonderfully carbonated, easy to drink and leaves you wanting more. I have had other variants of Musk of the Minotaur and it is always wonderful. The flavor profile changes with each variant but the beer is always amazing. Hoof Hearted is doing great things with IPAs.

I was lucky enough to drink this waaaay back in 2011 when it was first released at a small bar in columbus. Maybe it was the atmosphere, but at the time I thought that this was the nectar of the gods. In retrospect, I think I was right.